He dusted the dirt from his clothes, looking up towards the boys that had pushed him down. With a glance back, they all giggled again, and he just looked away. After all, the mistreatment was something he was long since used to. There was no need for him to make a scene over it.
Leonardo instead picked up his newest bow and walked away from the clearing. The blond had just finished discussing his latest craft with his teacher, who once more praised his efforts. It was only to be expected that the others would be jealous. But in their efforts to taunt the blond, they had left the archery range nearly empty, so Leonardo turned his potential anger into appreciation for the solitude. He lifted his new bow and took an arrow from his quiver with his right hand, as the instructor told him the bow was good enough to be tried out. The arrow lodged itself very close to the center of the target, and Leonardo was able to smile slightly to himself. He really was improving; both in the skill of making and using a bow.
The boy continued his practice for the next few hours, trying out both his new bow and the one that he was used to. He shot with his right hand, then moved on to his left. The amount of skill was equal with either. It was one of the things the archery instructors were so amazed by. Though Leonardo didn't think much of it at first, he eventually grew to listen more to the praise, and even appreciate his skill a little better. He practiced with both of his hands equally, making sure that his skill would stay. But this was another thing that the other students were jealous of. Whenever they tried to shoot with their non-dominant hand, it only ended in disaster.
Leonardo was mostly left alone when he first arrived at the school for each session. Eventually, however, the jealousy of the other students would get the better of them and they would start to pick on the quiet boy. It only got worse and worse until it was time for Leonardo to head back home. The instructors barely ever caught wind of such behavior, and the young archer never cared enough to tell them. It would only be a sign of weakness for him.
"Well done, Leonardo!" The student turned, looking up to see his archery instructor smiling down to him. "So, it seems that bow worked out after all." His student smiled slightly back to him and nodded a response. "Good." The older man then looked over to the target, noticing how accurate the boy had gotten with his shots. "You have improved greatly," he stated. Leonardo nodded again, looking back to the target as well.
"Thank you, sir." The man patted Leonardo on the shoulder, looking back to him and smiling once again.
"Now, it's time for dinner. And you deserve a well earned break." He turned after his next statement and started moving away from the area.
"I will be right there," Leonardo responded. He took a moment to gather his arrows from the target before going to his room to drop off his weapons.
It was quiet again that night. Everyone was starting to get more enveloped in their training, and it caused for the students to be quite tired by the time the day was done. But Leonardo found himself once again losing sleep. It had been a long time since his father and brother went off to war. He had lost count of the days awhile ago, yet he couldn't help but to think of them constantly, wondering and worrying. He hoped that they would be able to come home soon. There were many ways that he had improved during his training and he wanted to show them. But more than that, he just wanted them to get home safely and in one piece. It was hard not being in touch with your family sometimes at the school, but everyone was taught to get over it. Himself especially, with all the lecturing he had gotten from his father over the years. Doing well in the school and in his training was supposed to be his greatest concern.
Remembering his father's words eventually led him to get some sleep. He needed to be well rested, after all. The resurfaced worry was once more pushed to the back of his mind for the night.
The morning was all the same. Everyone awoke early to have breakfast, then quickly moved on to warming up and the first parts of their respective classes. Leonardo got all the attention that he normally did, and was picked on for it later in the day. He tried to ignore it as he always did. Everything was normal.
"What is so special about you, anyway?" a boy with dark hair sneered, kicking up some dirt as he spoke. "I bet your family doesn't even have half the money mine does." Leonardo kept his gaze away from the other, turning away more as the dust he kicked up threatened to irritate his eyes.
"Yeah, you're not even that good with a bow," said another. "You may look cool now, but I bet you won't get any stronger. All you can do is fancy little tricks with that mediocre bow of yours." Leonardo still did little to react. He just stood there, waiting for the boys to go away. But the boys only seemed to get angrier at his lack of a reaction.
"Why don't you talk, pretty boy?" the first boy spoke again. "Are you too high and mighty for us or something?" Leonardo still didn't respond. He thought it was ridiculous that the boys were still bothering him when there was so much else they could be doing with their time. They had to leave him alone eventually if he just stayed silent, but after a little while longer, they only became more frustrated. But he just wouldn't react. Not even when they shoved him up against a nearby wall hard enough to hurt. It was only a knock on his shoulder, nothing to cry about. "Such a cheater," the boy sneered again. "There's nothing about you that's real, there can't be." They knocked him against the wall again to hurt his shoulder more, but it was still nothing that would hinder anything he did. Still no reaction.
"Hey boys, cut that out!" Another voice sounded, and this one finally caused Leonardo to look up. The archery instructor came up to them, and stared the boys down until they all felt rather uncomfortable. The students that were in the wrong quickly straightened their stance, and with a rushed "Sorry, sir," left the scene. The teacher sighed and shook his head at them as they went. "Are they always this much trouble?" Leonardo just shrugged. "Well, it'll be taken care of. Anyway, Leonardo, something came in for you today." The boy was silent for a moment, wondering what his teacher meant.
"Something came in for me?" he repeated.
"Yes, a letter. Would you like to see it?" He thought for another moment, this time wondering what the letter said and why he would have recieved one. It worried him, but he wasn't certain if the worry was even justified.
"I will at the end of the day," he decided, and the man nodded.
"All right. Just come to me when you are ready." With a final glance in the direction the troublemakers had gone, the man turned and went off to his work. His words already haunted Leonardo, but he knew he had to complete his daily training before anything else. It might help take his mind off the matter, anyway.
That hope was later proved wrong, however, when he noticed his shooting was off that day. He mentally scolded himself for it, but the thought just wouldn't leave his mind. Why would anyone send him a letter, anyway? What did he need to know? It was probably nothing, though he couldn't help but wonder. Now that the last of his training was done for the day, he could finally go and see.
His teacher handed the letter to him, and the boy looked down to it, noticing the seal that marked it as one from his own household as he opened it. A gnawing feeling rose in his chest as he unfolded the paper. The instructor waited in silence as Leonardo looked over the words. Worry soon joined the strain in his expression, and he didn't even do much to hide it as he finished and closed the letter. "Did something happen?" his teacher asked after a few moments of silence passed them by.
"It's my mother..." Leonardo explained. "She requested that I return home."
What could have happened that he was needed back at home for? He had never been pulled from the school in the past. His father would never hear of it. But if his mother wanted him back for whatever reason, he should probably go. He remembered the frail state that she was always in. How everyone wondered if she would make it through another year, and how there was no way of making sure that she did. It worried him. Yet he felt strange for needing to leave the school so early. His teacher didn't have as much of a problem, however.
"You should go, if you really need," he said, his voice kind. But Leonardo doubted it. This was a military academy, and he couldn't just leave whenever he felt like it.
"Are you sure?" His expression was full of uncertainty as he stared blankly down at the letter.
"Of course. This seems important to you and your family. I will make sure that your absence is excused." It was then Leonardo became vaguely aware of the special treatment he had been receiving from the school; his archery instructor in particular. If he wasn't so worried about his mother, or if he had more time to come to the realization, it would have come to much more of a shock to him. But his mind was too cluttered, and he found it hard enough to think straight as it was.
"I suppose... that I have to." Leonardo tore his eyes from the letter, bowing slightly to the instructor in an apology. "I'm terribly sorry, sir..." But the man just smiled gently to him.
"I already told you, it will be all right here."
He had everything packed and ready to go by the next morning. The worry had only gotten to him more and more overnight, and he was not able to get any much-needed rest. His eyes were fixed on the letter that sat on the table next to his bed. It gave him such a sickly feeling, along with many thoughts of everything that could have possibly gone wrong. With a sigh, the boy forced himself to stand, securing his quiver and wooden bow to his back. He quickly grabbed the letter and put it into his medicine bag, then blew out his candles and left the room. His instructor was waiting for him in the hallway, and smiled upon seeing him, as if it would help lighten the mood. "Don't worry, Leonardo," he tried to reassure him. "I will see you when you return." The boy bowed to him again.
"Thank you... I will be back as soon as I possibly can." His teacher nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
"Best of luck to you." Leonardo departed after that, still unsure of what he was doing. But the longer he traveled, the more his worry gnawed at him, and the more confident he became with his decision.
The house already looked terribly gloomy from the outside. It was cold, and there was no sound coming from it whatsoever. The whole structure just seemed to loom eerily over the surrounding area. Leonardo looked up at it, feeling his chest clench in hesitation. But he finally approached the house after a moment, lifting the heavy wooden doors to let himself inside. The halls were just as void of life as the outside, and the boy felt his heart sink even more. Something had definitely gone wrong. He walked quietly through the house, looking for a sign of where everyone could be. He peeked into each room until he finally spotted his mother at the dining table. There was nothing in front of her; not even a glass of water. Her arms were crossed over the wooden surface, her head resting in them. One of the maids stood solemnly at her side. Leonardo waited a moment before slowly entering the room, trying to erase the stress that surely showed in his eyes.
"Mother?" he spoke softly. The maid turned her head to look at him, but the other took longer to lift her own head and shift her gaze to her son. She seemed awfully sick, more so than usual. Her eyes were dull, her skin completely pale, and it looked as if she hadn't eaten for days. Leonardo felt a rush of horror strike through him as he realized she could finally be dying. If he had come any later, she might have already passed on and there wouldn't have been anything he could have done. But he came just in time; he might be able to help her yet.
"Leonardo..." her voice was strained and she could barely meet his gaze. "I am... so sorry..." Her head fell back down to her arms. The boy looked to her with such sadness in his eyes. There was no reason for her to be sorry, it wasn't her fault. He was just glad that he was able to get there in time, and that she was able to stay strong enough to wait for him. He would do everything he could to help her. Leonardo started to make his way over to her then, but the woman's next words made him stop just as suddenly. "They're gone..."
He stared blankly in her direction as his eyes widened. He knew exactly what her words meant, but he didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. But why else would his mother have gotten so sickly all of a sudden? And why would she call him home unless something that terrible happened?
The boy tried to find something to say, but couldn't no matter how hard he searched. They were gone. They were dead. The nightmare he had been pushing to the back of his mind for so long had come true. There was nothing that he could say. He felt his hands start to shake, and grasped at the belt securing his quiver in a feeble attempt to stabilize them. His mother had long since fallen silent; the maid just bowed her head. Leonardo could barely find the strength to keep standing. Every inch of his body was beginning to ache, even though the news hadn't completely sunk in for him yet. Why his father and his brother? They promised him that they would be all right.
"How..." was all he could manage. His voice was weak, and it took all he had left to keep the tears from welling over.
"I... received the notice two weeks ago..." his mother explained weakly. "And that is when... I sent for you..." It was silent again. He felt the tears welling up even more, and he closed his eyes for a moment as if it would stop them. He took in a deep and wavering breath to calm himself before he dared to open them again.
"Mother, you should rest." His voice was stable again. She didn't respond at first, but after a murmur of agreement from her maid, once again lifted her head. Leonardo closed the distance between them and offered his hand out to her in support. The maid helped her stand, as well, and they brought the frail woman up to her room. After they laid her down to rest, Leonardo met with her maid quietly in the hallway.
"Are you all right, young Master?" she asked him once they were alone.
"I should not be your concern right now," Leonardo said back. "How long has she been like this?"
"Well..." the maid sighed and shook her head sadly. "Two weeks ago... when she received the notice. I heard a sound from her room, and when I came up she was..." The maid paused for a moment. "She had collapsed on her floor. I picked her up and brought her to her bed as quickly as I could. But ever since then, she has refused to eat. We have only gotten her to have her dinner a couple of times." Leonardo grabbed at the belt over his chest again, feeling a gripping pain in his heart.
"Is there anything I can do?" There had to be. He couldn't lose her now, not after what he had just heard.
"That is what we hoped... She was only going to write you a letter telling you of the news, but we convinced her to call you back instead... I-I hope it wasn't of a great inconvenience for you."
"No... Thank you." He sighed to himself, his body still shaking slightly from the grief he wasn't allowing himself to show. "Please, call me when she awakes. I have to sort out my things." The maid nodded, and he walked quickly to his own room. His door was thrown open as soon as he got to it, and he just as hastily shut it behind him. Without a moment to waste, the boy went to the far side of his room to put away his weapons and medicine. His heart began to ache more and more with every passing moment. This couldn't possibly be happening. They couldn't be dead. And he wasn't even allowed the time to let it sink in, as he had to stay as strong as he could for his mother.
Taking in a deep breath, he sat at the edge of his bed, trying to compose himself. His eyes still watered and his core still shook. Everything was in a confused mix of fire and ice inside his heart and mind, causing him more distress. He knew it was only going to build up, but he tried to push it away. He wanted the grief to leave him alone. Wanted it to have no reason to be there. It was terrifying, every moment that he sat there in silence. There was no way of knowing how it happened, or what he was supposed to do now. If anything happened to his mother, he would be all alone. So suddenly. It would all be gone. He couldn't let it happen.
"I don't think any of them like me very much." The red-haired woman turned away from the window in which she was standing and to her youngest son instead, her blue eyes gentle as she looked at him.
"Why do you say that, Leonardo?" she asked him with a kind and patient tone. The boy looked up from the table to her, his posture straight and his own gaze respectful as he did so.
"They just treat me... differently. But father says that I do not need them to like me," he responded, and to his mother's slight surprise had barely a trace of sadness in his expression or in his voice. It made her worry about her son, that he wasn't getting along well in his first year at the school, but she knew there wasn't much that she herself could do about it. If the young boy wasn't upset, then she could only hope that it remained that way.
"Aren't you lonely?" she asked him after a moment. "Latimer has always enjoyed the company of other people. He is even starting to talk and act more like the common folk down at the village."
"I know, but I feel differently. Father says that I do not need anyone aside from the three members of my family, and I believe him. I'm not even exactly sure how to go about talking to them."
"I see..." The woman sighed slightly to herself, the worry still gripping at her heart. Perhaps her youngest son was much more like her husband than the older; and if that was the case, then at least he would be happy being closed off. Though she wished he would try to be a little more outgoing. Her husband would never agree, but she thought her older son's sociable attitude was much healthier. The woman turned back to the stone window sill, starting again with her tending to a small flower planted there in a decorated ceramic pot. Silence fell between her and her son, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They rarely ever spoke to each other, and even the few words that they exchanged made her feel a bit more assured about their relationship.
She hummed quietly to herself as she finished tending to the plant, hearing the faint sound of Leonardo working diligently on a bow behind her. The sounds would stop ever so often, showing that the boy had done a part wrong and had to start over. He may have been discouraged by his failures, but everyone was proud of him for already learning the skill.
The woman smiled slightly to herself at this thought before turning back away from the plant. She started making her way over to the table, though her movements were quickly halted by a sharp pain in her back. Leonardo looked up from his craft in time to see his mother wince, who quickly reacted by putting down the piece of carved wood and hopping up onto his feet. "Mother?" He reached out to gently grab one of her arms and help stabilize her stance. The breath was knocked out of her, and it proved hard to retrieve, but with the aid of her son she was able to make it to the table and sit down to rest. "Are you all right?"
"Yes." His mother smiled up to him in assurance. "Thank you." The boy let go of her arm, taking a step back and nodding slightly. Yet despite her assurance the worry was still apparent in his expression. She kept her gentle smile for him, though, as it was her job to do the worrying instead of him, and to calm him when he was even only a little upset. "Don't worry, Leonardo," she started again. "I will be all right. Make sure that you stay strong."
"Young Master?" The sudden voice shook him from his thoughts. He jumped back onto his feet, feeling much lighter with the load off his back, and quickly made his way over to the door to open it. His mother's maid was standing there, head bowed respectfully upon his appearance. "She awoke a few moments ago." The boy didn't wait another second before he nodded to her, and quickly pushed past the maid to make his way over to his parents' chambers.
The door was already open when he arrived. Leonardo carefully peered into the room, seeing first another one of the maids standing next to his mother's bed; holding a small cup of water in her hands for the lady of the house. The young archer stepped into the room then, seeing his mother's dying body struggling to breathe as she laid there. It was an image that tugged at his heart all over again, and he found himself fighting back a strengthening urge to cry. His mother's dry lips made a few strained movements, causing an unorganized sound that could barely be made out as some sort of an apology.
"Mother?" he called out softly, making his way across the room to close the distance between them. "You have nothing to apologize for." The woman slowly turned her head to the sound of her youngest son's voice, weakly opening her eyes to look up at him.
"Leo... nardo..." The boy's face fell sadly. He lifted his hands to rest them on his mother's, repeating his last sentence as he did so. The woman tried her best to smile at this. "You're so... forgiving..." she struggled. Her son gripped her hand a little tighter, trying to be reassuring.
"You need your strength, mother." She closed her eyes, the smile still on her face, and shook her head slightly.
"Do you remember... what I always told you... L-Leonardo?" The boy hesitated as he thought for a moment, not sure how to answer. She had told him many things over the years; things that kept him standing even when he felt that he was going to fall. Even in her terminally frail state, his mother sometimes seemed to be the strongest out of the four members in his family. "I'm... proud of you..." she continued when her son didn't answer. Leonardo bowed his head sadly as her comment.
"Why, mother?" he asked. "I'm not nearly as strong as you are... or brother and father were." His heart clenched at his own words, and he felt the pain in his chest rise even more as he continued. "And even now, there's nothing I can-" The blond cut himself off, not able to finish the sentence as his emotions threatened to crack his voice. Silence fell once again in the room before the woman was able to muster enough strength to speak again.
"Don't blame yourself... please." He looked back up to her then; pained to see that the smile on her face was gone, and that her dim eyes now reflected more of the grim feelings in his own.
"I'm sorry, mother," he said, closing his eyes. The woman slipped her hand from under her son's and up to his cheek in a weak attempt to comfort him.
"None of this is... your fault, Leonardo. It was already... my time..." Her eyes slowly closed as well, just as her hand fell back against her side and her voice drifted off. The silence returned then, and after a few moments, Leonardo reopened his own eyes to look back to his mother. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her state; drained and unbreathing. It was all he could do not to full out panic as he quickly waved the maid over. Time seemed to race by too quickly; every wasted second gone as if it never even had the chance to be there. The maid did all she could before calling in more people, all of them trying as best they could to revive the lady. Leonardo could barely tell what was going on in his surroundings as he tried to calm himself. He tried to tell himself that everything would be all right, and when he lost the strength to speak aloud hoped the thoughts would somehow reach his mother as well.
The woman's lips moved slightly, mouthing the words that only Leonardo could see in his frozen state. Stay strong. One of the maids walked slowly up to the bed, and it was then that the boy realized the room had halted in its earlier frenzy. The maid reached out towards the resting woman, gently taking hold of the sheet and pulling it over her head. He was left alone; the rest of the company leaving not long after to give him some peace.
He fastened the belt for his quiver around his shoulder, securing it before leaning to grab his bow and put it in place. The medicine bag was already on his belt, and aside from that he didn't need much more from what he currently had with him. The walk down the halls of the estate was a silent one. His footsteps barely echoed from the stone flooring as he went, making his way to the heavy wooden doors that marked the entrance. Without a second thought, the blond pushed them aside, stepping out into the cold air. The doors fell closed behind him and he continued out towards the line of trees that surrounded his home.
It was there that he finally stopped and turned, taking one last look at the estate he was leaving. A small breeze blew through the area. The coolness of it set an odd mood, yet it didn't seem to faze the boy as he stood unblinking.
His mother's funeral was only three days prior. Leonardo hadn't spoken a word since the day she passed on quietly in her room. Now, without so much as a note to the ones who worked in the estate, he had packed up his things to move on. Pain bit at his heart and tears began to well in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, tearing his gaze from the estate and walking onwards. Heading as fast as he could to the only place he had left with no intention of returning.